Different types of data such as characters, tables, and images require different structures which define the data and different editing operations for the data. Various application programs are provided in accordance with the type of data. The user uses different applications for different types of data: a character processing program in order to edit characters, a spreadsheet program in order to edit tables, and an image editing program in order to edit images.
In this way, the user generally uses different application programs for different types of data. In general, a document to be created by the user is made up of a plurality of types of data such as characters and tables, or characters and images, rather than a document formed from only one type of data such as characters, tables, or images. To create a target document containing a plurality of types of data, the user must use the printing functions of various applications to print data by the respective applications, and combine the print materials in a desired order.
Some programs such as so-called “Office Suite” which forms one integrated application from various applications provide a function of combining data generated by respective applications into one document. The use of the integrated application allows the user to combine data created by respective applications into one target document by using a specific application included in the integrated application.
Some printer drivers have a function for inserting special-purpose paper (referred to as “paper sheet insertion function”) in a print job.
A printer driver with a paper sheet insertion function can designate to insert front and back covers which are respectively inserted in first and last pages, in which a paper sheet fed by using an inserter mounted on the device is inserted in the first and/or last page of a document. In the state of the art, however, the device supports only the front and back covers as insertion paper sheets to be designated, and a slip sheet which is inserted as a break for each group of pages (to be referred to as a chapter, hereinafter), an index sheet which is inserted as an index for each chapter, and the like have not been supported yet. In addition, the insertion paper is fed only from the inserter of the device, and feed cassettes mounted on the device cannot be selectively used. Some applications or printer drivers have a print preview function which previews, before printing, how a document is to be printed, and enables a user to recognize it. However, since the print preview function of the application previews document information, no information about the insertion paper is displayed. The print preview function of some printer drivers previews that the insertion paper sheet is present, but it is difficult to make the user determine which of paper sheets on the print preview window is the insertion paper sheet.
The use of an integrated application for creating a target document enables arranging various data in the data state without printing them out. No heavy labor is required in comparison with creation of a target document by combining print materials. However, applications for editing and creating various data are restricted to ones included in the integrated application, so a user-desired application is not always exploited. A target document created by the integrated application is one document file, and management such as editing and output is done for each file. The application function poses many constraints on setting the format of part of the document file. For example, the user must change format settings at each portion where the format is changed, and print a target page again. This leads to much labor and low productivity, similar to the above-mentioned method.
In a conventional system for displaying a print layout on a display, even when a specialty paper sheet is to be inserted and the inserted specialty paper sheet is not to be printed, since printable pages and unprintable pages are displayed in the same form, a user cannot determine on the window display which of paper sheets are unprintable. For this reason, when, e.g., a page number or the like is to be additionally drawn from the print layout display window, the presence of the unprintable insertion paper causes a trouble.